Tallahassee, Fla. (October 15, 2014)- Standing at 6 feet 6 inches and 265 pounds, Larry Donnell is becoming a big new star for the Tiger’s. Claimed from free agency, Donnell is averaging about 11 points a game for the team in only his second NFL season.
From Ozark, Alabama, Donnell attended Grambling Universty where we only played in 20 games. In those 20 games, he caught 38 passes for 432 yards and 11 touchdowns. But tight-end isn’t a natural position for Donnell. Donnell played quarterback his freshman year at Grambling and didn’t make the change to tight-end until half-way through his freshman year.
Although his stats in college were less than impressive, the Tigers scouting department saw promise in the young unpolished tight-end. A major selling point was his basketball background, a trait he shares with many of today’s best players at his position. Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez began the leagues infatuation with big bodied tight-ends from a basketball background. Both are essentially Hall-of-Famers. Their success using their big bodies to “box out defenders like they’re going up for a rebound” changed the way tight-ends play today. Donnell was an all-state basketball player at Carrol High School in Ozark, and the Tigers knew he would fit the new mold created for NFL tight-ends.
Donnell’s high point of the season came in week three when he caught three touchdown passes and contributed over 20 points to the team. The last two weeks he hasn’t done much but the team contributes this to the increased amount of defensive attention he has been getting. After his team’s number one wide-out tore his patella tendon last week, Donnell is expected to become the main focal point of the offense again and the team expects big results.
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